The present invention refers to an ink-jet printer for printing on cards.
In particular, the invention can be used for printing on cards made of plastic material such as, for example, credit cards, smart cards, magnetic cards, etc.
As known, these cards usually bear signs, images, trademarks, that help users to identify the purpose of the card and to distinguish each card from the others.
The state of the art provides for different techniques for printing on cards.
One solution consists of thermal printing, i.e. a printing activity wherein a thermal printer is used.
This solution is extremely complicated and expensive.
Other solutions envisage ink-jet printing, i.e. printing wherein ink-jet printers are used.
In a first ink-jet technique a film is deposited on the card before printing, and then the printing operation is carried out on such film; in other words, the ink ejected by the printer lands on the film previously deposited on the card's surface. The main drawback in this case is the low quality of the final result.
In a second ink-jet technique the printing operation on the card is performed with a temperature sensitive ink. When the printing operation is finished, the card undergoes a curing step, in which the ink is fixed to the card by the effect of heating obtained trough a UV lamp. A drawback of this solution is due to the time necessary for final curing step, which increases the overall time required for completing the printing process. Other drawbacks derive from the complexity and bulkiness of the apparatus for performing this kind of printing, since a UV lamp must be provided in addition to all the traditional components necessary for ink-jet printing.